Chasing Amy (1996)

Bound (1996), starring Gina Gershon & Jennifer Tilly

Chapter Two

Lesbian New Wave - Diversity, Community and Positive Representation (Cont'd)

A Male Perspective

While the previous films have all been made by lesbian filmmakers, the images of lesbians created by men should not be ignored as irrelevant.  In fact, many lesbian filmmakers and critics have dismissed the notion that only lesbians should make films with lesbian subjects as 'essentialist' 37.  Several films have been made by men in the last few years, particularly from within the independent sector, that have attempted to engage with a lesbian subject (with varying degrees of success).  One such film is Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith, 1996).     

The film centres on Holden, the creator of a successful comic book, Bluntman and Chronic.  When he meets fellow cartoonist Alyssa, he is convinced that he has met the woman of his dreams, except for the fact that Alyssa is a lesbian.  Director Smith, known for his bawdy and irreverent humour, has been criticised by some lesbian critics for creating 'a humorless, dour, dreary dick-fantasy about the kind of cartoon lipstick lesbian that spoiled gen-X men think will fuck them if they just trim their goatees properly.'38  However, while the narrative of the film sees Alyssa fall in love, and temporarily engage in a relationship with Holden, the film received lesbian approval, in a manner of speaking, from Guinevere Turner, writer and star of Go Fish, who makes a cameo appearance in Amy.  

To his credit, Smith does attempt to engage seriously with the emotional struggle that Alyssa faces in her decision to love Holden.  In an emotional scene, she explains to Holden, 'I can't get into a relationship with you without throwing my whole fucking world into upheaval' 39.  Smith also creates some images of a lesbian community, although he then fails to engage with it in any more than superficial terms.  He ventures into a lesbian bar, and later, Alyssa's group of friends who, like the 'jury' in Go Fish, reject Alyssa when she admits to being involved with a man.  However, there is an implication that Alyssa's defection was not an altogether unexpected one, and perhaps even a common occurrence within this group.  One friend comments, 'Another one bites the dust', suggesting that the state of being a lesbian in the world of Chasing Amy is in constant flux, and regularly ends in embracing a heterosexual life.

Smith produces no real understanding of what it is to be a lesbian - Banky's idiotic questions to Alyssa about what she does with women being one example of the film's inability to deal with the subject of lesbian sex in anything other than superficial terms.  Particularly offensive for a lesbian audience are the comments made by the character Hooper, a black gay man, who dismisses 'lesbian chic' as 'that latest of trendy beasts' 40.  According to the film's official website, Smith claims that Hooper represents his 'thoughts about the politics of the gay community (particularly in the record store scene)' 41.  Thus the film makes no moves forward in the representation of lesbians, and perpetuates the myth that all lesbians are just waiting for the right man to come along.

A film that is arguably more progressive in its depiction of lesbians is Bound (Andy and Larry Wachowski, 1996).  Two women, Corky and Violet, engage in a dangerous relationship of sex and theft, when they plan to steal $2 million from the mob.  At first glance it would seem to be embracing a caricature of lesbian stereotypes - Corky is a butch lesbian, complete with labrys tattoo, pick up truck and job as a 'handyman', while Violet is a squeaky-voiced femme in spike heels and short skirts.  However, throughout the film the Wachowski brothers knowingly play against these stereotypes.  It is Violet, the seemingly straight woman of the two, that seduces Corky, a reversal of previous narratives.  And at the climax of the film, when Corky is again knocked unconscious by Violet's boyfriend Caesar, it is Violet that saves them both, by playing against her own stereotype, and Caesar's expectations of her.

Bound, despite being a film noir-style thriller, is peppered with lesbian in-jokes.  At the lesbian bar which Corky frequents, the jukebox plays 'I ain't never loved a man, the way that I love you'.  When Violet brings Corky coffee she says, 'I guessed you were straight black'.  The double meaning is made clear, as Violet is well aware of the fact that Corky is neither straight nor black.  Even Violet's name is a nod to lesbian history.  According to actress Marlene Dietrich, lesbians in 1930s Berlin would wear violets to identify each other.  Violet wears a tattoo of one on her breast as her own signifier, despite telling Corky, 'I know what I am.  I don't have to have it tattooed on my shoulder' 42.  It should be noted that while the script was written and directed by men, the Wachowski brothers did hire lesbian critic and writer, Susie Bright, as a 'technical consultant' for the film, in order to produce a more realistic representation of lesbians, and which probably added to its distinctive lesbian perspective.

Unlike other recent films, there is no depiction of a lesbian community, apart from a brief glimpse of it in 'The Watering Hole', the bar which Corky patronises.  However, Bound is not specifically a narrative on lesbian lives, but a crime thriller.  I would therefore argue that the presence of a lesbian community was not entirely necessary in this instance.  Far more important is its positive depiction of the two lesbian leads, who not only engage in a battle of wits with the mafia, but ultimately outsmart all the men of the film.  Unlike Bound's noir-ish predecessor, Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven, 1991), it is the men and not the women who are depicted as villainous.  As such it makes a positive break with the past and, as a result, it was embraced by lesbian audiences and critics.  In her review of the film for lesbian and gay online magazine, PopcornQ, Jenni Olson praised the film for featuring, 'a pair of convincing lesbian characters, a palpable desire between them, and a happy lesbian ending' 43.  

Happy ever after? - Positive v Negative representation.

The question of a lesbian happy ending in recent films is an important one.  There have been no shortage of negative stereotypes of lesbians in the cinema - lesbians as murderers, as in Basic Instinct, lesbians as vampires in Dracula's Daughter (Lambert Hillyer, 1936) or The Hunger (Tony Scott, 1984), or simply lesbians as isolated and full of self hatred, such as Martha in The Children's Hour (William Wyler, 1961).  However, as has been established in this chapter, during the 1990s new films appeared that produced other, more positive and diverse images of lesbians, both in independent and mainstream cinema.  But, in breaking with the past in their depiction of lesbians on screen, are lesbian filmmakers obliged to produce only positive images?

In the 'New Queer Cinema' that emerged in 1992, several of the films cited as part of a new wave of filmmaking featured what might be considered 'negative' gay characters in the lead roles.  Kalin's Swoon (1991) was the story of Leopold and Loeb, the gay lovers who kidnapped and murdered a teenage boy.  Similarly, in Edward II (Derek Jarman, 1991), Jarman did not shy away from portraying the monarch as weak and his lover as manipulative.  Director Tom Kalin has claimed that, 'We're in a sorry state if we can't afford to look at "unwholesome" lesbian and gay people.' 44  This being the case, should lesbian filmmakers follow suit with images of "unwholesome" lesbians?

It could be argued that lesbian audiences have been saturated with negative images of themselves for decades, and therefore lesbian filmmakers should strive to produce positive images to counteract these.  Filmmaker Monika Treut would argue against this.  She has been criticised in the past for the sometimes negative representations of lesbians in her films and has replied by rejecting 'exclusive lesbian politics' and arguing that lesbian filmmakers should not be required to depict their community in only a positive light.  She has stated that, 'The gay community expects from artists who are openly gay, like me, that our work cater to their needs. ... We are not advertisers, but people with visions, whose interests and obsessions are in constant change.' 45  In light of this debate, how have recent films dealt with the issue of positive lesbian representation?

Go Fish was a conscious effort on the part of Rose Troche and Guinevere Turner to create a happy lesbian world.  According to B. Ruby Rich, 'they wanted to make a feel-good movie in spite of themselves. ... Once there was a car accident in their script, and a suicide, and a confrontation with some violently homophobic men.  But they got over it.' 46  Perhaps its most positive quality is that all the characters are not only secure in their sexuality, but they actively embrace it. 

However, the world of Go Fish is not a naively idealised one.  According to Chris Jones, 'the script celebrates lesbian culture but prevents the tone of the film from becoming cosily idealistic.'47   While the majority of the narrative is positive, there are moments when problems are examined.  When Evy's mother finds out her daughter's sexuality, she kicks her out of the house.  There are also some suggestions of homophobia, particularly in a scene where Kia has abuse yelled at her in the street.  However, this scene just serves to re-enforce the strength of these women.  Henderson describes the scene as a triumph.  'The harassment is routine but the unafraid response is triumphant, the stuff of both plausibility and fantasy for a beleaguered audience of lesbians' 48.  Conflict within the community itself is also examined during the film, when Daria is dragged in front of a 'jury', to defend herself after sleeping with a male friend.  It is here that the prejudices inherent within the lesbian community are brought to light.  However, the scene takes place within one of the non-linear moments of the film, the implication being that this took place in Daria's mind, and not within the 'real' world of the film. 

The most pointed engagement with the question of positive representation is in the dialogue between Eli and Max when they return from the cinema, having watched an unnamed queer film.  Max is offended by the negative image of gay life which the director has projected on screen.  She argues that, 'the man is a gay film maker.  I feel that he has a certain responsibility to represent us in a positive way.'49  However, Eli disagrees, echoing Monika Treut's statement cited previously, saying, 'We expect queer film makers to take the responsibility to represent the entire community.  I think that's really a lot to ask. ... I think we want him to represent everyone, when he's just representing what he sees in the community.'50  The debate is not resolved, leaving the audience to decide which character's point of view they agree with.

Everything Relative attempts to be an entirely positive representation of the lesbian community.  None of the characters are shown in a particularly bad light, all attempt to be non-judgmental of each other, and the arguments that do occur are quickly resolved.  Several of the women have had problems in the past, but have either already reformed, or reform by the end of the film, having gained a clearer perspective of their lives in the course of the weekend.  All the conflict is too easily resolved, with only token confrontations.  This means that the resolution is ultimately unsatisfying for the audience because, according to Edith Becker et al in their article 'Lesbians and Film', 'positive images, like negative images, suppress contradiction and are thus static.'51 

All Over Me is another film which does not overtly depict a negative image of lesbian life.  Like Go Fish, it has a happy ending.  Unlike previous 'coming out' narratives, Claude is not faced with objections from her mother, although the text makes it clear that her mother Ann is not fully aware of her daughter's sexuality.  Above all, the community which Claude finds, represented through both Lucy and Luke, is a nurturing, supportive and non-judgmental one.  Lucy is shown to be willing to let Claude take her time in finding out who she is and what she wants.  After Claude runs out of Lucy's bedroom after their first encounter, Lucy gently questions her, without pressurising, asking 'Are you going to freak out again?  It's not like it matters, you know.  I just want to know if you're going to leave real soon.'52  In sharp contrast to Ellen, who is clinging and demanding, Lucy offers a relationship space free from demand and judgement.

However, Claude's is not an idealised world.  Her experience of first love with Ellen is largely negative and unsuccessful, and Ellen rejects her.  However, it is not the physical and sexual nature of their relationship which Ellen rejects, but the emotional.  She tells Claude not to tell her she loves her because, 'it just fucks everything up.' 53 

Homophobia is also present within the narrative of All Over Me.  Claude is confronted by Mark who, jealous of her close relationship with Ellen, threatens her.  However, the brunt of his homophobic rage is reserved for Luke, who he stabs and kills one night.  Claude is therefore spared any physical repercussions as a result of her sexuality, possibly due to her gender.  While the prejudice is present, the narrative does not become bogged down in it.  Luke's murder takes place off-camera, unlike past scenes of homophobic violence, such as in Cruising (William Friedkin, 1980).  Homophobia is therefore acknowledged by the film, without letting it take over the narrative.  This results in a much more balanced depiction of lesbian and gay life than Everything Relative.

A much darker film that those previously examined, High Art depicts lesbians in co-dependent relationships, drug use and, recalling films from decades ago, sees its lesbian lead character die.  The close examination of the drug culture within the lesbian community might be seen as an extremely negative representation.  However, it is, according to writer/director Lisa Cholodenko, an accurate one for some people, and one she saw first hand.  She has defended her vision, saying, 'I was intrigued by the whole idea but I wanted to look at it in a more honest way.  I'd seen enough to know that the party ends.  People close to me stopped living their lives and having relationships.  That's the tragedy, and I wanted to put that out there.' 54

While High Art does depict a more negative side to life, director Lisa Cholodenko does not sit in judgement over the choices her characters make.  There is no overt statement that 'drugs are bad'.  The film is, instead, an examination of addiction and co-dependency.  While these aspects of the film may be negative, at no time is the women's sexuality shown in a negative way, nor is lesbianism attributed as the cause of the women's addiction.  High Art is arguably not a negative representation of lesbian life, but of drug culture.

High Art cannot be dismissed simple due to its exploration of more negative aspects of lesbian life.  Henderson argues against restricting lesbian filmmakers to only positive images of their community, saying, 'I do not accept that producers who represent their own non-dominant identities, experiences, and communities ought to be bound by best-light, 'positive-image' portrayals and restricted to good, moral characters and happy resolutions by mainstream standards.'55  By ignoring the more tragic side to life, filmmakers would be ignoring a rich source of drama and action, and create dull versions of the world on screen.

Since 1994 and the release of Go Fish, it is clear that an increased number of films depicting lesbians has emerged, providing a diverse range of characters.  Furthermore, positive images of lesbians are now a more common form of representation in recent films, unlike the demonised images of the past.  These films are not always embraced by lesbian audiences, nor are they always as successful as Go Fish in both producing an engaging image of a lesbian community, while at the same time carving out a distinct style of lesbian cinema.    However, they are proof that a niche market exists, and irrespective of their strengths or flaws, each of these films has made a vital contribution in raising the profile of lesbian cinema.

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